


The Moon Shines This Christmas

by fandom_cat



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Christmas at Hogwarts, F/M, Fluff, M/M, Marauders era, SO MUCH FLUFF, best mate best bf, bit of snogging, but remus doesn't know that lily knows that remus is a werewolf, christmas feast at the common room, cute christmas, full moon tomorrow, jily, lily knows remus is a werewolf, romantic bf sirius, tired remus, wolfstar
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-01
Updated: 2019-02-01
Packaged: 2019-10-20 14:45:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,773
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17624390
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fandom_cat/pseuds/fandom_cat
Summary: A friend (@luciferleviatan on tumblr) ordered herself:Wolfstar and JilyMarauders eraChristmas at Hogwartssweaterscuddlingcoffee.I, in my modest writer capacity, simply delivered. ^_^





	The Moon Shines This Christmas

**Author's Note:**

> I've had this sitting on tumblr for ages, so I wanted to cross-post it here, a bit off-season. Tags and prompts say it all. Enjoy, every comment is appreciated <3 <3 
> 
> Originally posted on tumblr here ==>> https://the-fandom-cat.tumblr.com/post/155623780497/the-moon-shines-this-christmas-eve

I know they all stayed for me this Christmas.

James is always home for the holidays; Remus only hides at Hogwarts when the full moon coincided with our vacations. Lily has been talking about the trip her parents were taking her on for two months.

So the fact they all came up with the lamest excuses to stay behind was so obvious – I can barely manage to not roll my eyes at them.

“I actually hate warm,” Lily says and I give her a pointed look. She was just yesterday blabbering endlessly about Kochi.

I would be all over her blatant lies, was it not for James’s smug grin.

“Well, it is actually your fault, Padfoot, that I am stuck at Hogwarts for the holidays,” he claims.

The insolence! “Really?” I challenge.

“Yes,” James continues shamelessly. He puts his legs up on the table across from the comfortable fireplace chairs; he is still grinning and I am barely refraining from jinxing him. “My mother would not have me back for Christmas, since you refuse to accompany me. She says you are her favourite and I am worthless to her without you. You have stolen my own mother from me and that is just not what best friends do.”

“You have Lily,” I remind him. Lily puffs and gives me a look over the book she's reading – I get it. Not the best prospect to be a replacement to your boyfriend's mum, regardless of how awesome she is.

“Does Lily make the best roast dinner on Earth?” James asks, then continues quickly, “Possibly. But I cannot taste it, and I cannot taste Mum’s either. Your jealousy has ruined Christmas, Padfoot! Have the decency to be ashamed. At least,” he added, waving a finger at me, “I am not jealous of Moony. I am obviously the better man.”

“Get off your high horse!” Lily warns him. “Why am I even dating you?”

“Because I am ravishing.”

I puff and give James the gesture he deserves at the moment. He is unconcerned.

“You all are horrible,” I say to my friends. Only Peter is missing, because at least he wasn't nannying me and has gone home like a good lad. “I can see through your lousy excuses to stay for Christmas, you know.”

“I haven't made any excuses,” Remus notes next to me. He has been writing a letter for the last fifteen minutes, possibly to his parents. He seems tired and pale. I look him over and know he was not about to lie about why he stayed; we all keep track of the moon cycle anyway.

This year it's on Christmas day.

Tomorrow it's Christmas Eve and I just know he's too tired to enjoy it. I feel bad, because it's our last year at Hogwarts, but just like with my holiday curse, there is nothing to be done. At least in my case, I brought it on myself: running away from home last year, cutting ties with my wretched family, and denying myself the opportunity of Mrs Potter’s roast dinner – the best on the planet.

I just didn't want to be given hand-outs.

But James' lame excuse gives me an idea and I grin to myself. Tomorrow, I will have work to do.

 

~   ~   ~

 

“Don't you think the fest tonight would have what you need?”

The voice sounds right behind me and even before the question is finished, I have turned with my wand in my hand, ready for a duel. I drop it immediately.

“Professor Dumbledore!”

“Those are good reflexes you have, Mr Black,” the Headmaster notes as if I haven't almost hexed him just how. He looks rather unconcerned with me having a bunch of packages from Hogsmeade as well. Rather, Dumbledore seems amused.

The man continues, smirking, “Why have you never played quidditch again?”

“I am really sorry, Professor,” I say with my most convincing good-boy tone. “I didn't mean to raise my wand at you.”

“No trouble,” Dumbledore says. “In these grim times, it's not a bad thing to have a swift hand or a clever mind. Preferably both. Mm—”

The Headmaster trails off for a moment but then he's back, focusing his clear blue eyes on me and pointing at the load of stuff I was levitating. “I take it Mister Lupin is not feeling well.”

“How did you—?” I didn't bother to finish the question. Dumbledore had the ability to figure out the secrets behind the Marauders’s pranks every single time. It was unnerving but not always useless – one time, the Ravenclaw we were trying to push into the toilet for getting too close with the first years got the Headmaster’s attention and was soon seen getting collected by his parents for home-schooling.

“Yes, sir,” I admit. “He won't have the energy for the celebrations and it's our last year, Professor!”

I know my puppy-face is perfect but I try harder than ever before to get Dumbledore’s sympathy. His mouth twitches slightly and with a spark in his eyes he says, “I was never here. I have seen nothing.”

And then he leaves. I laugh all the way to the Gryffindor tower.

 

~   ~   ~

 

“Sirius Black, you are the best secondary boyfriend in existence,” Lily mumbles with a mouth full of chicken. The Tawa dish the kitchen elves prepared for her is apparently delicious.

I grin at her. “My pleasure, Miss Evans. If you must stay here in the cold with us, I thought I’ll bring Kochi to you, in a sense.”

“Hey!” James protests. “If anybody is going to execute romantic gestures for Lily, it’s supposed to be me. So back off, Padfoot.”

““Supposed to” being the correct verb,” Remus notes cleverly. He is not smiling but I can always read his amusement by the way his eyes sparkle and his mouth twitches a little at the edges. “You are a horrible secondary boyfriend, Prongs.”

“The audacity!”

We are in the common room again and it’s the afternoon of Christmas Eve. The fest downstairs would be starting in a moment but none of us are enthusiastic to go. I started the party early and made sure James was on-board with my plan. This way, it was almost certain all four of us will stay in the Common Room tonight, enjoying our own personal feast.

Somehow, I feel like Dumbledore would understand.

Through the help of the house elves, a quick secret visit to Hogsmeade, and some levitation magic, I have managed to create a mini-celebratory dinner for us all right here in the Gryffindor tower. A small Christmas turkey, roast vegetables and parsnip, gravy, cranberry jelly, some carrot and coriander soup, chicken tawa, pepper rasam, four servings of Christmas pudding, four cups of Chrannachan, some apple halwa, and watermelon jelly – all of it is carefully arranged by the kitchen staff on small tables along the wall farthest from the fireplace. I left all the treats from Honeydukes aside – they would probably be for breakfast. All four of us are spread comfortably on the armchairs in front of the fire with plates filled with anything we could fit.

I can see Remus is eyeing the Chrannachan.

His drooling is interrupted by James’ offended voice. “I am a lovely secondary boyfriend.”

“Then I suppose taking me with you to quidditch practice when Sirius and I were having a fight was a brilliant choice.”

“Watching me excel at the pitch is anyone’s delight!”

I roll my eyes and so does Lily. “You are horrible,” she says for both of us.

“Prongs, as usually – you are correct,” Remus admits. “Watching you be so full of yourself made me realize our argument was ludicrous. I could be stuck with somebody horrible for a boyfriend. You know, like...”

“Shut up!” James interrupts, pouting. I laugh at the genuine hurt on his face. 

“Anyway,” Lily says, “this was supposed to be about Sirius. Thank you, love, for being so considerate.”

“You’re welcome.”

“Thank you, Padfoot,” Remus adds.

I turn to him and I can see it in his eyes – he knows it was all for him. He knows it is meant to be my Christmas gift to him. Well, apart from the volume of “ _Protection Charm Your Mind: A Practical Guide to Counter Legilimensy_ ” I found on Diagon Alley last autumn – I know Moony’s been interested in the magic of the mind ever since Professor Slinkhard mentioned it last year. Unfortunately, our teacher was too busy writing his supposed groundbreaking book during class to actually explain how both disciplines worked and Remus has been reading about them in his spear time ever since.

“Anything for a smile,” I tell him and grin.

Remus responds immediately – his mouth stretches out and it’s all the thank-you I need. He looks less exhausted like this; less as if the moon is draining him every hour it is nearing its fullness.

But his expression changes. The tiredness returns.

“I have been feeling a bit under the weather,” he admits. James and I know what he means and we exchange looks. Lily is too busy with the chicken to notice. “How rotten would it be to get sick on Christmas!”

He laughs as if he is making a horrible prediction which would never become true; three of us know it will be very real tomorrow.

Of course, nobody but Remus would call being a werewolf a “sickness” – something he insists on doing still, with a tone suggesting he is nauseated by the idea. Nobody is more disgusted with the wolf than himself. I wish all these years of friendship and our relationship during the past months would have convinced him he should think better of himself, but apparently I have more work to do.

“You know, I find it a bit offensive you don’t find me worthy of knowing you are a werewolf, Remus,” Lily says all of a sudden.

James chokes on his butterbeer and looks between me and Moony, panicked. He puts his hands up defensively, as if to say this is not his fault.

Remus, on the other hand, is too busy being completely mortified to notice James’s comical hand-waving. I squeeze my boyfriend’s hand encouragingly but he doesn’t notice. I trust Evans enough with James’s heart – something of a privilege, after he has been repeatedly heartbroken over her contempt with him. I have given her a chance. Trusting her with Remus was another deal, though; I couldn’t be so generous so quickly.

“I don’t know what you mean,” Remus whispers. “I am just coming down with a cold, that’s all. Why would you suggest—”

“Please, Remus,” Lily interrupts. She is wearing one of her kind and patient expressions, but I am not reassured yet. “I am not an idiot. I realize this is about you – and how comfortable you are telling people about it – but I am a bit disappointed I am not on the list of persons you trust. I thought we were friends.”

“This—I—I’m not…”

Remus could not continue. He had become smaller next to me, smaller than ever before, even after transformation, even after James and I had figured it out years ago and Remus had been so certain we’ll run away, or taunt him, or reveal his secret to everybody.

I realized, Remus was feeling guilty. What Lily had said made an impact, because maybe Remus had wanted to share with her all this time.

He was always so afraid of disappointing people.

“Suck it up, Evans!” I snap. “This is not about you.”

“Don’t fight,” Remus mutters right away. “Lily is right. She _is_ my friend.”

“I am not scared of the truth, Remus!” Lily says proudly. I can almost imagine her putting a foot to the ground. “Plus, I have known for a year. Have I changed my attitude towards you?”

We all stared. James once again looks the most surprised of all of us; he keeps looking at Lily with a mix of admiration and gratitude I am not sure I am ready to express.

“A year?” Remus asks.

“Yes, of course! When I realized James has stuck by his friends, despite his tendency to be... not-in-a-good-way special...”

“Hey!”

“It’s true,” Lily insists. “But it made me realize you are not such a snot after all, so I started hanging out with you and—Well.”

Remus blinks a few times. Then he laughs. Loudly.

“You are dating James because of me?”

“Well it wasn’t his undying charm!”

Lily has the Marauders spark in her eye and a smirk curving her mouth. James is outraged, but we are all laughing now and he stares, suddenly finding himself at the centre of attention in a way he doesn’t like.

I look at Remus and he looks younger than twenty-five, which is rare lately. I like it.

“I am owned a bottle of Firewhiskey, I believe,” Remus reminds of the old arrangement.

James is not a good sport. “That is not fair! It was not the agreement.”

There is a commotion, in which Remus and James argue, but I interrupt by raising my voice over theirs.

“The agreement stated anybody who helps you get on Evan’s good graces is to receive a bottle of Firewhiskey and a private dance,” I say. “Now, as the boyfriend, I say hold the dance. But the Firewhiskey is well-deserved.”

“You’re just on his side because you want him to snog you later,” James argues, sullen and horrible at losing as ever.

But he is not wrong. I grin at him. “I _do_ want him to snog me later. It doesn’t mean I am wrong though.”

“I hate you.”

“No, you don’t. You love me. I am delightful.”

We laugh again at James and he is so unhappy he pretends to hide behind his food until we stop. It takes a while. When the room settles, Remus finally looks at Lily again. He has a frown on his face – determination.

“Lily, I’ve got to tell you something.”

“Yes?”

It doesn’t come out. Not properly. He’s never said it before and we have always known he hates the admission. We’ve never forced him to say the word.

That’s why James always jokes about it.

It’s why we accept his attempts to make light of it.

But Remus is staring Lily right in the eye and I know the words are playing over and over again in his head. I know he wants to be brave about it, at least tonight – his last Christmas at Hogwarts.

“I’m a werewolf,” he says in a whisper which drowns in the crispy voice of the fireplace.

“Thank you for sharing that with me, Remus,” Lily responds softly. She is smiling and I can almost feel the room brightening up. “My turn – have I ever told you I dated Navya for three months?”

Silence.

Lily is looking only at Remus, but I know it is James’s reaction she is waiting for. Accidentally, I know the muggle world is much more difficult about who goes out with whom than magic folk are – we save our contempt for non-wizards, which is horrible enough. Lily should know she has nothing to worry about, but she must be unsure exactly how open-minded James is. Maybe she doesn’t know Remus has the same interest in both boys and girls; or maybe that is exactly why she is staring at him now.

But there is nothing to consider. In the uncomfortable silence, James says, “The Hufflepuff who started her own newspaper? The one who keeps talking about mixing magical traditions from different cultures?”

Lily nods. She is still nervous but the tension form her shoulders starts evaporating almost visibly with every second James doesn’t seem to react to the news of Lily having an ex-girlfriend.

“I knew you had a type,” James says finally. We all stare at him. “Gorgeous, incredibly intelligent, and inspiring.”

He doesn’t need to point at himself but he does and Lily is rolling her eyes before he has started the gesture. James is about to open his mouth to speak but his girlfriend is kissing him before sounds can leave his mouth and Remus laughs next to me – with the face of a teenager again.

This last Christmas at Hogwarts is a good one.

 

~   ~   ~

 

“There’s cranachan on your face.”

I turn and Sirius is there, grinning. Before I can say something, he is kissing me, and the thought I had is gone.

“There,” he says. “Now you’re clean. You taste like raspberries.”

“Thank you for tonight,” I say.

His smile shows me he already knows he’s been a perfect boyfriend.

I have been dreading Christmas. For a couple of hours with my friends, I forgot what was waiting for me tomorrow. Sirius always makes it easier to forget I am not normal.

“Great Hall was probably boring anyway,” Sirius says.

He’s lying – he loves the festive decorations and the happy mood: the chatter, the music on the background, Peeves telling rude jokes until Dumbledore warns him to hold the dirty punchline in front of children. But Sirius also knows I couldn’t have handled them tonight.

He sacrificed his last Christmas Eve at Hogwarts for me and that above all let me know I would never be able to let him go.

“You are a horrible liar, Padfoot,” I tell him. He is unconcerned.

“But you are very handsome when you are happy and that is better to look at than the fest.”

I know I am blushing so I tilt my head. But Sirius’s hand is under my chin and he’s lifting my face up.

“You are cold,” he informs me.

The air in the tower is not as warm as downstairs, with the Common room fireplace and the blankets. Sirius tells me to wait and goes to his bed, combing through his stuff. He returns with a jumper.

“Here.”

He forces it over my head and for a moment I am left with an odd jumper-scarf around my neck, until I sneak my hands in the sleeves and the warm black wool warms my body almost immediately.

“Black sheep? Is this a subtle message?” I ask, laughing.

“I knew you’d see the symbolism.”

“You are ridiculous.”

“And you are still cold,” Sirius says.

His wand is out before I can say anything, and he’s magicked coffee out of thin air. The hot steaming cup drifts through the air and into my hand. I catch it and climb into my bed with it. Sirius sits next to me on the edge, a cup of his own in his hand.

“Moony?”

“Mm?”

The coffee is delicious, exactly how I like it, and I feel warmer already. Sirius is staring at me and I know there is a question, something which is bothering him. He’s so bad at sharing – no less than I am – but he has started already, and maybe today is the day he finds the courage to speak his mind.

“What happens after we graduate?” he asks.

“What do you mean?”

“You know what I mean.”

I do. He’s worried. I don’t date and he’s always known we are a gamble. I have always been so careful – too careful – to not inflict damage on anybody with my condition. But tonight has been a night of secrets revealed, and I have been reminded of something I admit I have forgotten: I have friends, and they are too stubborn to leave me alone.

Plus, starving myself of human kindness has only left me craving. These months with Sirius have been proof that I crave normalcy as much as any regular wizard. And the Marauders – my friends, my family – have stood by me, done so much for me already.

It’s hard to imagine life without them.

“I don’t... know,” I say in the end. “Sirius, I don’t want you to be stuck with me.”

“Stuck?”

He is offended. I knew he’d be, but he asked and I couldn’t lie. Truth is I crave Sirius so badly, that it feels impossible to let him go. So he must have the chance to take an exit, if he wants one.

“You’ve done so much for me,” I say. “For years, really. You became animagus for me; you helped me manage my condition; you took care of me when I was scared. And tonight was amazing. Which only strengthens my resolve – you should not be stuck taking care of me. I am a burden, Padfoot. You shouldn’t—”

“Oh, shut up, Moony!”

Sirius sets his mug to the nightstand and sneaks closer to me. My hands are shaking – I am tired and a bit scared, because a good Christmas Eve has come to an end.

“You are not a burden,” Sirius says. He grabs my mug and sets it aside too. “I am not leaving. Unless you want me to.”

My throat is closed but I manage, “I don’t want you to.”

“Then I won’t.”

And he kisses me.

Before he even tries to lean in, I am already pulling us down, and my back is awkwardly on the headboard, with Sirius hovering over me, still kissing me. We’re both hungry, but neither of us speeds thing up, because I am tired and he is careful – _he is always careful_ – and then my hand reaches as if on its own and my fingers are biting into his shoulder. Sirius sighs against my lips and I am overwhelmed by him, by the smell of smoke in his hair from standing too close to the fireplace and the taste of cinnamon on his lips from the pastry he had earlier.

“You’re not leaving?” I ask between kisses.

“Nope.”

“Is James coming back?”

“Not for an hour – he’s showing Lily the stag.”

I laugh. “He’s trying to win boyfriend points by demonstrating what a loyal friend he’s been to me, isn’t he?”

“Of course he is.”

“So we’re alone?”

Sirius frowns, guessing my intentions. “You’re tired.”

“If you’re going to be nannying me, Sirius Black, I will take away your boyfriend privileges!”

“On Christmas Eve?” he asks, mischievous Marauder-brand grin on his face. “You wouldn’t.”

“Watch me!”

He uses his most charming smile on me and I resist it for three whole seconds, until I kiss him again. Then I push him off me so we can get more comfortable on the bed. Sirius is beaming and his smugness is as irritating as it is endearing.

“Stop being so happy,” I say.

“Stop being so adorable.”

My attempt to push him off my bed only resulted in getting me pinned to the mattress with Sirius hovering over.

I didn’t mind.

Last Christmas Eve at Hogwarts is better than I expected. Much better.


End file.
